Don't Go Jason Waterfalls

Name: Switzer Falls Trail
Address: 701 Angeles Crest Hwy, Tujunga, CA 91042
Date of Hike: Sunday, January 13th
Duration: 3 hours
Distance: 5 miles round trip
Difficulty: Medium
Parking: 3 parking lots... $5 day Parking Permit BUT the government was shut down so...

 ✅Picnic Area ✅Closed Loop ✅Shade ✅Panoramic Views ✅Dogs on Leash
🚫Free Parking🚫Ocean Views

This hike includes a nice drive through the Angeles National Forest, if you like belting Ariana Grande while swerving around deadly cliffs.


So along the main road there are two parking lots (where we took this first picture), and then there's a driveway that leads down to a lower parking lot by a campground. 
Us trying to decide who was going to catch us not paying for parking
We couldn't get down to the lower parking lot because the gate was closed (thanks, Obama!) so we got to add a cool half mile at the beginning and end of our hike.

Yes I do portraits, hit me up on Insta @daveberenato

The hike starts off with a nice shaded walk along the creak before ascending into a more perilous, cliffside trail above the trees.


It really is hard to capture just how expansive this view is. For a full 180 degrees you see nothing but the San Gabriel Mountains. 

About a mile and a half in, the trail descends back to ground level and you walk along the creak for a short trek until you reach Switzer Falls!


The waterfall has two levels, one in the picture above. To the right, there's a rope that allows you to scale the wall and climb up to a higher plateau with another pool of water collecting there before dropping to the bottom level. Please only do this if you have good shoes!

See if you can spot Ash giving me the "how many pictures of me do you need?" look
We were able to get to the waterfall and back in a chill 3 hours, which included plenty of almond breaks. In a wetter than usual January for Los Angeles, we were both glad we brought jackets for this hike, but I can imagine a summer version of this hike being a totally different beast (with maybe even a dried up waterfall at the end).

And although we didn't bring full lunches, I would recommend the beautiful picnic area at the start or end of this hike. Here is Ash lamenting the fact that we don't have a picnic basket full of baguettes and cheese.


I recommend this casual to moderate hike to those who enjoy hopping across stones to cross creaks!


Location: 701 Angeles Crest Hwy, Tujunga, CA 91042, USA

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